The Court of Crows
by Mrj9797
Summary: An OC story about the goings on in the 16th ward. The story follows Ichiro, a member of a ghoul gang named the Court of Crows. Follow him as he tries to deal with the CCG, a binge-eater, rival gangs, and other challenges facing the ghouls of the 16th ward.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. Feedback and criticism is appreciated. I'm publishing the first three chapters at once. It is assumed that you have either watched the first twelve episodes of the anime or read the first 60 chapters of the manga. I have not decided whether or not this takes place in the √A universe or the manga universe yet. For those of you who don't know, the second season of the anime doesn't follow the story of the manga. The main difference is that (SPOILER WARNING) Kaneki joins Aogiri Tree in the first episode of the second season of the anime. It will probably end up taking place in the √A universe depending on how the anime progresses. If there is something that I reference or mention that is in the manga but not the anime, I will put an asterisk with a note at the bottom explaining it.**

**Anyway, without further adiue, here is the story.**

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><p>I leaped along the rooftops. I made my way to the hotel. Stopping on the roof of the office building next to it, I surveyed the opposing building. Both buildings were very tall. I removed the slip of paper from my pocket.<p>

"Let's see, rooms 618 and 723." I said allowed. One room on the sixth floor with a balcony and an interior room on the seventh floor. This would be easy. I put on my mask and put my hood up. Luckily, the office building's architecture was meant to resemble a gothic cathedral and thus had gargoyles jutting out from the side. I have no idea why this building was designed this way but, I'm glad it was. I dropped down two floors onto a gargoyle.

Now if memory serves me right, 618 should be the room right in the center of the building's south side. I smiled. I continued down the side of the office building until I reached the gargoyle directly two floors above 618. Should I enter the building through a vacant suite and come in the door? Maybe, but I would lose my element of surprise and I would need a key if I didn't want to wake half the hotel breaking down the door which would entail beating up some housekeeper. No, the door posed unnecessary difficulties that could be avoided by going through the sliding glass balcony door. I resurveyed the room. I was in luck, the lights were on. The balcony was big enough that one could stay hidden in the dark while the lights were on.

I leaped from the gargoyle to the balcony just above. I made more noise than I care to admit and I woke the business man inside. I quickly flipped over the balcony and hung down by the edge. Darn these glass panels. It's so much easier when there are bars surrounding the edge of the balcony. The man came out in nothing but a tank top and boxers brandishing a tazer. Luckily, he gave up without noticing the black gloved hands clinging to the balcony. He went back into the room and turned off the light. I dropped down to the ledge below careful this time not to make too much noise. I cautiously looked into through the window. the bathroom door was somewhat ajar and I could hear the shower running. On the bed there was a man. I knew that she was married. This can't be right, she was supposed to be alone. I sighed, the body of a main office investigator would draw enough attention that no one would care about her husband if he was just some random civilian.

I tapped on the window. and he looked over. he got up and cautiously opened the door cautiously and then reeled back in an attempt to avoid me as I lunged at him. I quickly covered his mouth before he could scream and cut his throat with a pocket knife. I quietly lowered his body to the ground. The girl still hadn't left the shower and seemed to be oblivious to what was going on. Since it had been a while since my last meal, I decided now would be as good a time as any. I took one bite of the man. Gah, I tasted sweat on skin. No, it would be better to wait for her. I prefer my meals to have showered before I eat them. Then I noticed the silver briefcase on the table and decided it would be fun to toy with her.

Yoko stepped out of the shower. She wondered whether or not her husband was still awake. She dried herself off with a towel including her hair because she didn't want to bother with the blow dryer. She stepped out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe and gasped at what she saw. Her husband, on the ground, with his throat cut.

"Surprise surprise"

Youko turned to see a masked hooded figure walking towards her. She turned around dove for the briefcase on the table. She grabbed it and then pointed it at the ghoul and pressed the button on the handle. The briefcase opened but nothing happened.

"One of the quinque's many flaws is that without the battery, it's useless. I said holding up a small lithium disk. I smiled. Youko started to turn to run but was stopped as a ran her through with my kagune. I laughed, removed my mask, and took the first bite.

Afterwards, I stowed my mask and my hoodie (which had gotten bloody) in a small duffle bag and wiped my face. That was the best meal in a long time, just showered, not to much fat, and surprisingly tender for a dove. Now then, the really important job, room 723. I made my way to the to the other side of the hotel and went up one flight of stairs. I found myself in the hallway of room 723. This should be easy. The two inside should be waiting for me. I walked up to the room to find the door slightly ajar… with a red liquid slowly pooling at the crack exposing the interior of the room.

I flung open the door. Dead… both of them. I walked inside careful not to get any blood on my shoes. Oh yeah, a ghoul did this. One had a few bites taken out of him. The other one…hold one, I put my mask on as I noticed a petite figure kneeling over the second body, eating. She looked up and noticed me. I released my kagune, a koukaku*. I lunged at her and she rolled out of the way. Just as she exited my field of view I felt a piercing pain on my back. I turned my head to see a bikaku* piercing the back of my body. In the light from the hallway, I could make out a young girl wearing a grey sweatshirt. She sheathed her kagune and then ran out the hallway as I collapsed to the ground. I crawled over to the door as I felt the wound slowly stitching itself back together. As my blood poured out of my body I felt myself slipping from consciousness.

No, not here.

I crawled across the floor grabbed a shirt from one of the victims' luggage. I tore a strip from it and wrapped it around my wound as an improvised bandage. It did little to stop the bleeding. I did my best to stand up. As I got to my feet I saw the knob turning. I donned my hoodie and my mask. I stumbled to the door. I took a housekeeper who was standing just out of view of the gory scene inside by surprise. I pushed past her and got behind her. I put her in a choke hold. The last thing I needed was some panicked lady raising an alarm. The housekeeper finally fell unconscious and I lowered her to the ground. I then grabbed her key and then knocked on the door right across from the room with bodies in it. Walking became easier as the muscle stitched itself back together but it did not help the pain. I opened the door and walked in. Thankfully, the couple inside was asleep. I stumbled across the floor and made my way out on the balcony. I looked down to the street below. I was in luck, it was empty. I flipped over the balcony and made my way down the side of the building.

I stopped to catch my breath when I reached the street and then examined my surroundings. Luckily, no one was there on the sidewalk and there were only a few passing cars. I removed my mask and turned and stumbled towards the Pit.

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><p><strong>* In the manga, it is explained that there are different types of kagunes with different strengths and weaknesses. This isn't explained in the anime and since I like to cater to both audiences, I'll briefly explain kagune types here. <strong>

**An ukaku is light and fast and comes from the ghoul's shoulders. This is Touka's kagune type. A koukaku is a heavy, defensive kagune that comes from the ghoul's shoulder blades. It is the slowest of all the kagune types but is also the sturdiest making it effective against ukakus which only use light attacks. This is Tsukiyama's kagune type. A rinkaku resembles scaled tentacles and comes from the the ghoul's lower back. It is effective against ukakus because it has extreme striking power. It is also has the most regenerative powers but is also more brittle than other kagunes. Kaneki, Rize, and Jason all have rinkakus. The final type is a bikaku and it comes from the tail bone and resembles a tail. It is the most balanced with no real weaknesses and is considered the most powerful of kagunes. Nishio has a bikaku kagune.**

**If you want more of an explanation about kagunes then visit the wikia's kagune article or read chapter 53 of the manga (don't worry, there aren't many spoilers. It's just Shinohara explaining kagunes to Suzuya) both explain it better than I can.**

**Anyway, that was the first chapter. Please rate and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up idiot!" A familiar voice shattered my sleep. "Senpai, you got blood all over the sheets! You know I'm the one that Taka-san makes do the laundry. Speaking of which, why is there blood all over your clothes? Bloodstains aren't easy to get out you know."

"Good morning to you too." I said sitting up. My back still hurt where the strange ghoul's kagune had injured me. I looked around. I vaguely remember coming in the back door of the Pit and then collapsing in my room. Apparently the bleeding had stopped during the night and now my sheets were covered in dried blood.

"By the way, Taka-san wants to speak to you." I looked up to see a black haired girl in a school uniform.

"Would it be to much to ask for you to go one day without yelling at me Rin-chan?" I went to take off my shirt which had been soaked in blood.

"Not with me in the room idiot!"

I turned around and looked at Rin humorlessly. "And what do you think would be the easiest solution to that?" Rin grumbled to herself and then turned and left my room. I changed into something that wasn't blood stained. Afterwards, I left my room and went downstairs into the main bar room. As I entered I checked the clock on the wall. I realized it was shortly after three o'clock and Katashi was cleaning behind the bar.

"Glad to see your back among the land of the living. Who messed you up so badly?"

"Don't know."

"Did you see that you made the news today?"

"Main office investigator killed in her own hotel room? Things like that tend to make the news."

"What about the guy?"

"What guy?" I thought back to the night before.

Katashi frowned. "Yep, Taka-san wants to talk to you about him. Man I've never seen him so pissed."

Who did I kill? I thought. Katashi continued. "Taka-san is in his office. Better be careful he doesn't bite your head off and I mean that literally. Who did I kill that would make Taka-san so mad? I thought. I opened the door to his office. Taka-san was sitting at his desk. Taka-san was a tall man who always dressed well, with dusty, light brown hair.

"Please, sit down." I sat down. "So, have you seen today's news? There was this absolutely shocking news story about something that happened at the hotel last night. So shocking in fact, the news is providing updates in real time."

"Taka-san, I just woke up. I haven't seen the news today." Taka-san handed the day's newspaper to me. I took one look at the headline.

Son of a…

Why did I do that?

"What is this?" Asked Taka-san. "What made you think that was a good idea?"

"Forgive me sir, I had no idea."

"You didn't recognize him?"

"No sir, I did not. I assumed he was her husband staying with her while she was on assignment."

"Well it's obvious that you didn't know who her husband was." I re-read the headline.

"Tokyo shocked after CCG assistant director killed in brazen ghoul attack." It read. I put my head in my hands and sighed.

"He was inspecting the 16th ward branch office and was staying with his wife who was on assignment investigating us." Taka-san exhaled deeply and then continued. "Your goal was to ease the heat on us here in the 16th ward. Now the place is going to be crawling with main office investigators."

"Not anymore than it already would have been with this whole Aogiri Tree thing."

"Stop making excuses Ichiro-kun." Taka-san looked back at the newspaper. "Well, I guess this is a blessing in disguise seeing as the CCG's investigation of the Court of Crows will go to the back burner. Add the that the fact that you did your job of killing the case's lead investigator. Well, I can't say this is entirely bad. In fact, this isn't what I'm angry about." Taka-san took the newspaper and pointed a passage in the front page article.

"Among the dead were two ghouls. Both were cannibalized. The CCG believes that this is somehow related to assistant director Yotsuba's murder but has yet to determine whether or not the same ghoul who murdered director Yotsuba also cannibalized the ghouls. In addition, a 1st class investigator Yotsuba Yoko was killed and eaten. According to a witness, at least two ghouls were involved in the incident."

"The two people we were charged with protecting were killed because you were enjoying a meal."

"Forgive me sir. It was my fault entirely."

"Well I appreciate the honesty but that doesn't change the fact that the two people that we were supposed to shelter were killed before they could be brought to the Pit. What I want to know about is the person who killed them."

"Well," I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "It was a woman, petite, I think she had dark hair. I don't know for sure. She was wearing a mask. The mask itself was a simple half mask that left the mouth exposed and had an image of a rose or something on it. Besides that, all I know is that she has a bikaku kagune. The only reason she injured me so badly is that she took me by surprise."

Taka-san nodded and then sat for a moment of thought. "Ichiro-kun, did you notice that the papers were reporting on a string of cannibalism and binge-eating in the recent weeks?"

I straightened up in my seat. "Are you saying that there is a binge eater in the 16th ward sir?"

"Exactly" replied Taka-san.

"Well sir, a binge-eater I can see. But a cannibalistic binge-eater? With all due respect, the 16th ward isn't exactly all rainbows and sunshine. Cannibalism happens." I replied.

"Sure but not at the rate it's been happening in the last few weeks. I suspect that there is a binge-eater in the 16th ward and a cannibalistic one at that. This same binge-eater killed the two people we were supposed to protect."

"Is there any chance it could be the one from the 20th ward, Kamishiro Rize?" I asked.

Taka-san contemplated this for a moment and then said. "I doubt it, the 20th ward's binge-eater isn't a cannibal." Taka-san paused for a moment then continued. "What I want you to do is to find her."

"And do what with her?" I asked.

"Well, find out why she killed those two. Then convince her to move to a different ward or at least get her to adopt different eating habits. I wouldn't recommend trying to kill her. She may have developed a kakuja* depending on how long she's been cannibalizing her fellow ghouls. If we must try and kill her, don't try take her on without the rest of the Court of Crows. Better yet, lead the doves to her and let them deal with her."

"Alright, are you sure I should be doing this so soon after getting injured? Why can't you get Katashi to do it?"

"Ichiro-kun, you're the guy who gets stuff done around here. Besides, Katashi-kun is working tonight. Anyway, why don't you ask about her at the Slaughterhouse? I couldn't imagine a better place to go looking for a binge-eater. I'll ask around in the VIP room tonight of the Pit tonight."

"Yes sir." I started up but Taka-san stopped me.

"By the way Ichiro-kun, you heard about what was going on in the 11th ward didn't you?"

"Do you mean Aogiri Tree sir?"

"Yes, I suspect that she may have come from a different ward. I've caught wind that they've been looking for the 20th ward's binge eater. Like I said earlier, there is a possibility, a small possibility but still a possibility, that this binge-eater is the same one as the 20th ward's binge-eater. If someone from Aogiri Tree comes looking for her. You help them, understand? I want to stay on Aogiri Tree's good side for now."

"Yes sir. Is that all?" I replied.

"Yes, you're dismissed."

"Oh, Which mask should I wear?" I asked.

"Wear you personal one. I don't want the Court of Crows to maintain a low profile for now. Unless you meet someone from Aogiri Tree, then I want you to help them as a member of the Court of Crows."

"Thank you sir." I got up and made my way to the door.

"Oh, Ichiro-kun."

I turned around. "Yes sir?"

"Try not get yourself hurt again."

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><p><strong>*A kakuja is an abnormal kagune that is developed when a ghoul engages in cannibalism repeatedly. Basically, it acts as an armor. Jason has a partial kakuja. You may want to check out in the wikia article for kakuja.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

I left Taka-san's office and walked back through the bar. Katashi was still cleaning up and getting ready for the Friday night crowd. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"Out," I responded. "To the Slaughterhouse."

Katashi looked up in surprise. "Why would you go to a place like that?"

"Taka-san and I think we have a cannibalistic binge eater."

"Well what would a cannibal be doing there?"

"Don't know. Truth be told, this is the only place I could think of looking for a binge-eater."

"Alright then, watch yourself down there Ichiro-kun."

"Will do," I replied. I went back into to a hallway where the bathrooms were located right next to a door with a sign that read "staff only." I stopped in front of the door. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah, my masks. I went back upstairs to my room and retrieved two masks, my own mask and a crow mask, and I put them both in my bag. I also donned a different shirt and jacket and grabbed my hat. Everyone who is part of the Court of Crows has two masks. Their personal mask and a crow mask. Most of the time we wear our personal mask. The crow mask is reserved for special occasions such as fights with the CCG, turf wars with other ghoul gangs, or anytime the Court of Crows was being represented. I walked back to the hallway and took a key from my bag and opened the staff only door. A long staircase stretched out in front of me. I flicked on a lightswitch and then closed and locked the door behind me. I started down the staircase.

The staircase ended in a large basement. I walked across the room and picked up a flashlight and another key lying on a table. I then went over to a large metal door on the other side of the room. I opened the door with the key and then entered and locked the door behind me after making sure I had the flashlight. In front of me was an empty room with a hatch. I checked that the batteries in the flashlight worked and then strode over to the hatch. I opened it to reveal a ladder stretching down into the darkness. I started down the ladder and shut the hatch above me. I reached the eventually reached the bottom and went through yet another locked metal door. I found myself in an underground space illuminated by some dim lights. More specifically, it was a junction where several tunnels converged. Here I was, the Tokyo underground.

I donned my maskI turned on my flashlight and shone it. It was black with two red stripes down the left side. I stared down one of the many corridors and then checked my map. Now then, the Slaughterhouse should be down this way if my map is correct. I walked down the corridor. I walked for ten minutes without incident until I found myself outside another metal door. I knocked than waited. A few minutes passed until I knocked again impatiently. At last a fat ghoul in a bloody apron wearing a hockey mask and holding a large meat cleaver answered the door and greeted me in a deep voice. "Yes?"

"Is this this Slaughterhouse?" I asked.

"Sure is," the man replied. "you here to get some meat?"

"No actually I was here to ask about someone. A girl, short, rose mask…" I was taken aback when the door was slammed shut in my face. "Hold on a moment." I said as I started pounding on the door. A small slot in the top of the door was opened and I could see the man staring out.

"Go away, you're the third person today to come around asking about little miss rose mask. Is it too much to ask for someone to actually buy something?" With this he shut the slot.

Whoever this girl was, she sure attracted a lot of attention last night. Perhaps I wasn't the only one she attacked. Well so much for keeping a low profile. I removed my personal mask and put it in my bag and then took the crow mask and put it on. I then banged on the door. Once again, the slot opened and the man began to yell at me. "Didn't I tell you to get out…" He stopped once he saw my mask.

"Taka-san sent me. He isn't happy with that girl and I am certainly not happy with that girl. I'm sure you don't want a binge eater in the 16th ward, especially a cannibalistic one. So you can help me find her or you can shut the door in my face and wait for the doves to start looking for her. Because when they do start searching for her and they will, down here is the first place they're gonna come looking."

The man opened the door and then bowed in apology. "Forgive me, I did not know you were with the Court of Crows. Is there any way I can help you?" The man's entire demeanour had changed. The Court of Crows was well respected in this part of the 16th ward.

"Well, Taka-san thinks that there may be a binge-eater here in the 16th ward and seeing as this is the first place I'd look for a binge-eater, I decided to come by and ask you a few questions."

"Please sir, anything at all to help."

"Have you seen a petite, dark haired, woman with a rose mask lately?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "She buys meat here sometimes. She only started to come around here a few weeks ago."

Back when the binge-eatings started I thought.

"So, do you know anything else about her?"

The man looked thoughtful. "Well, I don't know anything about who she is. She seemed…odd though. She would sometimes show up in this pink frilly dress with completely speech pattern, mannerisms, etc. and a different mask all together. I didn't often see her like that but when she did show up like that, I always got a strange vibe from her."

It was evident he wasn't going to be very helpful. Then I remembered something. "You said earlier that I was the third person to ask you about this girl. Who were the two others?" I inquired.

"One was wearing a dog mask. The other was wearing a mask made to look like a medieval knight's helmet." answered the man.

"I see." I responded. The dog was from one of the other gangs in the 16th ward. I haven't heard of a ghoul who wears a knight mask in the 16th ward though. I'd ask Taka-san about it when I got back. "Thanks, you were very helpful." This was a lie. All I found out was that the binge-eater sometimes wore a frilly dress and that I wasn't the only person searching her. She must have been pretty busy last night for so many people to be looking for her. "Have a nice day." I said.

"Have a nice day." Said the man who promptly shut the door.

I started down the hallway back towards the Pit. A part of the hallway about halfway to the junction of tunnels had begun to smell like death. That was strange, it hadn't smelled this way when I first went through here. Then I heard some voices coming from around a bend in the tunnel. I switched off my flashlight as a precaution and got ready for a fight. Not everybody you encounter down here is friendly. I had a choice of hiding in a small alcove or a narrow passageway. I decided on the alcove and ducked in just before the came around the bend. The smell was even stronger in here. As they rounded the bend, I heard their conversation.

"Let's face it Yoshi, we're lost down here." Came a female sounding voice.

"No, the map says that the Slaughterhouse is somewhere around here." Said a male voice.

"Yoshi-san, that map is wrong. We've been through this tunnel already." A third voice said.

"We'll never find Rize at this rate." Said the first voice. "Ayato is going to be furious."

"With all due respect Yoshi-san, how do we even know that Rize-san is in the 16th ward?" Said the third voice.

"Screw this!" Exclaimed the second voice. "All these tunnels look exactly the same." They finally came around the bend. I shrunk deeper into the alcove in order to remain hidden while trying my best not to gag from the smell. I went to the very back of the alcove and I pressed against something…squishy. The voices passed by. There were three of them. The second voice remarked, "Man it reeks in here. Why did Ayato make it so we were the ones who had to come to the 16th ward. Why couldn't he have sent that weakling Banjou?"

"Banjou-san is looking for Rize-san in the 20th ward."

"You think I don't know that you idiot!" Yelled the second voice. If these people are from Aogiri Tree, they certainly aren't their A players. They were too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice me as they passed the alcove. I stepped out from the alcove and stood behind them. They were so oblivious that they didn't notice me. I called out to them and startled them in the process.

"Hey, you three. What are you doing in the 16th ward?"

The three whipped around. The ones possessing the first and third voices were both women wearing green and blue jackets respectively and were both wearing tiger masks. They were both standing on either side of the one apparently named Yoshi who was the second voice and was apparently in charge of the three. He was wearing a leather jacket without a mask. He had green hair and was slightly shorter than average. The other two were both much taller than me. Yoshi straightened up and tried to look tough. "I would ask you the same question. What are _you_ doing in the 16th ward?" He asked leaning towards me.

"I live here." I responded flatly.

Yoshi looked slightly embarrassed. "It is nice to meet you." Said the one with the third voice and blue jacket as she bowed. "We are from the 11th ward and we are looking for a woman named Kamishiro Rize."

"I've never meet anyone by that name before. What do you want with her anyway?"

The third one continued. "We were sent from the organization Aogiri Tree and…"

Yoshi looked visibly annoyed at this and cut third off. "We heard there was a binge-eater here and we came looking for her."

"Well you aren't alone, it seems like everyone in the 16th ward is looking for her including me. You mentioned you were going to the Slaughterhouse. Don't bother, you're just wasting your time. I was just there and I didn't learn anything worthwhile."

"Who is in charge of this ward?" Said Yoshi.

"That's a good question." I said. "A lot of people claim to be in charge but there isn't anyone who everyone actually takes orders from. I'm from one of the ghoul gangs here. The Court of Crows to be specific. I'll tell you what, since both the Court of Crow and Aogiri Tree want to find this binge-eater, how about I help you find her."

"We would be happy for your help." Said third.

"Hold on a moment, how do I know we can trust you?" Said Yoshi.

"Why would I betray you? Look, I don't care what you do with her, just as long as she isn't ruffling the dove's feathers."

"They're feathers have already been ruffled enough." Said the one with the green jacket, speaking for the first time.

"That's beside the point." I continued. "Anyhow, come to the Pit if you want help finding her."

"The Pit?" Inquired the third one.

"It's the name of the nightclub near here. Just tell the bartender that Ichiro sent you and you'll meet the leader of the Court of Crow." I answered.

"Pffft, we don't need your help." Scoffed Yoshi.

"Yoshi-san, with all due respect, we need all the help we can get if we want to find Rize-san." Said the third. Yoshi had already turned and continued down the hallway with the first following him. "Wait!" Third started after them and turned towards me and apologized. "I'm very sorry, Yoshi-san is not very good at accepting help sometimes." she then turned and followed her two companions.

Well, now Aogiri Tree is looking for her. She must have gone on a rampage last night for some many people to be looking for her. I then turned towards the alcove to see what the squishy thing I had bumped into was. I turned on my flashlight and shone into the alcove. Inside there was a body. The body had been ripped and torn and was covered in bite marks. The eyes appeared to have been gouged out and both the eye sockets and the mouth were sewn shut. I grimaced. This was brutal, even for a ghoul. Then I noticed that there were remnants of a kagune still hanging out the person's back. This wasn't a human, it was a ghoul. I reeled back in disgust. Why would someone do this? This might have been the work of the binge-eater seeing as she was a cannibal. If so, she may still be in the tunnel because the body was put here within last ten minutes. I ran back in the direction of the three Aogiri Tree members.

"Was there anyone if front of you in the tunnels?"

"Why do you care about…" Yoshi started to say but he was cut off by the first one.

"We heard someone walking in front of us in the tunnels. At one point we got a glimpse of them.

"Were they petite and have a feminine figure?"

"Yes, it also looked like she was carrying two bodies or something. she went the bend near where we met you and we lost sight of her."

"Look, I know this might sound crazy but that was the 16th ward's binge-eater. She may still be in the tunnels. Just follow me." I turned and ran back down the tunnels. Near the alcove there was a small, narrow passage way. She couldn't have gone far.

"Now wait a moment." Said Yoshi. "Rize is tall, not petite." He stopped as he say first and third following me. "Hey, wait for me." He said as he started down the passage after us.

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><p><strong>Meanwhile in the 11th ward.<strong>

"So Banjou was sent to the 20th ward?" Asked Tatara.

"Yeah, I also sent Yoshi and the Yamato sisters to look for Rize in the 16th ward." Answered Ayato.

"Wait a moment, out of all your subordinates. you sent those three?" Tatara exclaimed.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You fool!" Even with his mask Tatara was visibly angry. "What made you think sending those three was a good idea?"

"I didn't want those idiots in the stronghold."

"So you sent them on an important assignment. You remember that disaster two weeks ago with the tractor trailer don't you?"

"Of course I do." Responded Ayato. A scar that he had gotten in the incident that hadn't quite healed yet ached as a reminder. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Tatara frowned beneath his mask. "Ayato, please tell me that you realize how much of a rhetorical question that is."

"Look, if those idiots are causing trouble in the 16th ward, then they aren't causing trouble in the stronghold."

"True, it would be good to be without them while we prepare for the CCG's assault. Still, I don't like that they are the ones representing Aogiri Tree in the 16th ward." Tatara responded.

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Yeah Tatara-kun, you worry too much." Chimed in Eto.

Tatara sighed defeatedly. "Sometimes I think I don't worry enough. Especially when it comes to those three. I certainly hope you know what you're doing Ayato."

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><p><strong>That's all for now. Please rate and review.<strong>


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